If you suffer an injury on a construction job in Pennsylvania, another person or company at the site may bear responsibility. Construction accidents take many forms: a falling steel girder; dropped tools or materials; a saw accident causing an amputation; defective scaffolding; a fall from an unsecured ladder; an unguarded…
Filing Before PA’s MDJ: Protect the Statute of Limitations?
For decades, Pennsylvania lawyers have wrestled with a deceptively simple question: Does filing a complaint before a magisterial district judge—Pennsylvania’s small claims court—protect the statute of limitations? The concern is understandable. Small claims proceedings are designed to be accessible and relatively informal. A complaint may consist of a short…
Pennsylvania Upholds Its $250,000 State Liability Cap on Negligence Claims
A Jury Trial Right Without a Meaningful Opportunity? In a long-awaited decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the Commonwealth’s $250,000 damages cap against a constitutional challenge. The ruling in Freilich v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, No. 10 EAP 2024 (Pa. Oct. 1, 2026) addresses an issue that has frustrated plaintiffs’ attorneys…
Hidden Arbitration Terms Do Not Establish Agreement: Superior Court Reinforces Duffy
An arbitration clause cannot bind a consumer simply because it appears somewhere in a company’s online terms. In Oakley v. FloatMe Corp., No. 1318 WDA 2025, 2026 PA Super 221 (Pa. Super. Ct. Oct. 1, 2026), the Pennsylvania Superior Court reinforced the requirement that consumers receive clear notice that they…
Understanding PA’s Increased Risk of Future Harm Doctrine
Clients of ours often inquire: what if another person’s conduct puts me at risk for harm in the future? Examples include: A doctor who carelessly orders numerous x-rays of the patient’s chest, putting her at risk of harm for cancer. But no cancer occurred, not yet at least. …
Suing Someone Who Lives in Another Country? The Hague Service Convention
In today’s global economy, it is increasingly common for Americans to do business with individuals and companies located overseas. International travel, online commerce, remote work, and foreign investment have made cross-border disputes far more common than they once were. If a U.S. court has jurisdiction over the dispute—for example,…
Defendants: Be Careful What You Share With Others!
Understanding Pennsylvania’s Common Interest Privilege Most people know that conversations with their attorney are generally confidential. That protection is called the attorney-client privilege. However, what happens when two different people or companies, each with their own lawyers, need to work together on the same legal problem? Examples include: Plaintiff falls…
PA Superior Court Revives WUCP Claim: Carmen Enterprises v. Goldin
The Pennsylvania Superior Court’s recent decision in Carmen Enterprises, Inc. v. Ely Goldin, Esq. and Fox Rothschild, LLP is a important reminder about PA’s Wrongful Use of Civil Proceedings Act (“WUCP”), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 8351–8354 (often called the “Dragonetti Act“). The Superior Court confirmed that a WUCPA claim can be…
Electronic Signature in PA: Validity, Authentication & Need For a Hearing
Introduction Electronic signatures now dominate modern commerce, employment relationships, consumer transactions, and litigation. Yet Pennsylvania courts continue to confront a recurring question: when a party denies signing an electronic agreement, what evidence sufficiently authenticates the electronic signature and proves assent? The Pennsylvania Superior Court’s recent decision in Levin v. Prime…
Piercing the Corporate Veil in PA After In re: Dravo LLC—Derivative Claims Against Carmeuse Lime, Inc.
Pennsylvania’s General Veil-Piercing Standard Pennsylvania strongly presumes that corporations and LLCs are separate legal entities, meaning, the entity generally protects the owners of the entity from personal liability. Courts “pierce the corporate veil” only in limited circumstances and only “whenever justice or public policy demand.” The doctrine is equitable in…
